Matt had emerged from the screen test filmed in the director’s suite at the resort convinced he had blown it and relieved that now they could move on and focus on finding this mysterious Byron character who had crashed the set and physically threatened Danika.
But word had leaked out quickly that Matt had nailed it.
Even the supremely skeptical Trent Dodsworth-Jones, who was still reeling from losing his leading man Chase after already filming a number of scenes with him that would need to be reshot, was stunned by Matt’s raw talent and undeniable screen presence. The scenes were hastily sent to Hal and Netflix back in Los Angeles, and it didn’t take long for word to come down that they were all willing to sign off on Matt. He was a suitable replacement for Chase. There were some rumblings that Matt was a nobody, with little experience, but the test seemed to drown out those voices, and Hal had determined that they had enough star power with Danika. They could afford a few unknowns in the cast. Plus, Matt would come cheap. Like SAG minimum cheap.
The crew had already finished shooting the scenes at the Sundial Resort, although they would have to return later for reshoots, and moved the company to Joshua Tree National Park, startlingly picturesque with its massive rock formations, barren desert landscapes, tangled trees, and long hiking trails through the boulders of Hidden Valley.
Trent was excited about shooting in this stark yet cinematic setting. There were some complicated sequences that would be filmed here including a desert car chase, which would enlist the services of Roy Heller and his helicopter. But today, the scene was relatively simple. Two supporting characters in the film, goofball Biff and Plain Jane Amanda, who are predictably repulsed by each other at first but eventually can’t fight their attraction. Finally unable to resist their carnal needs, the pair wind up making love behind some rocks off the beaten path. Unfortunately a tour group stumbles upon them.
Poppy, Matt, Iris, and Violet were all on the set because Danika was scheduled to shoot a few pickup shots once the scene was finished, and although security was tight, they were in the vast desert with a number of ways to sneak around the perimeter. Danika agreed to remain in her trailer with the door locked, especially since Matt had promised to keep her company.
“Poppy, I swear, I had nothing to do with Danika demanding they give me a screen test,” Matt promised as he loaded up some fruit into a bag at the craft services table to take to Danika.
“I know, Matt,” Poppy said, although she couldn’t help notice the spring in his step, how excited he appeared to be over his big break.
“It was her idea, totally!” Matt insisted.
“Yes, she made that perfectly clear to everyone,” Poppy said.
Matt reached in the bag, grabbed an apple, and took a big bite. “And I want you to know I have no intention of trying to parlay this into more acting roles. I am committed to Desert Flowers. Remember last year when that manager heard me sing and told me he might take me on as a client?”
“Yes, I do,” Poppy said, nodding.
“And I didn’t go with him. I stayed here, and look how far we’ve come.”
Poppy refrained from commenting on the fact that shortly after that manager considered taking on Matt, he filed for bankruptcy and shut down his whole agency, but why quibble?
“I mean, even though Danika thinks I could be the next Chris Pine or Ryan Gosling . . .” His eyes twinkled as he considered the possibilities, but then caught himself. “And maybe down the road I might get more serious about my acting goals again, who knows, but I promise you, for the foreseeable future, I am Matt Flowers, private investigator. Head of the Desert Flowers Detective Agency.”
Poppy gave him a tight smile.
He wasn’t blowing smoke.
Matt was a big key to their recent success.
But in her mind, she was the one in charge.
This was her baby.
And she was not going to let anyone forget that.
With each case, she was becoming more confident in her own abilities as an investigator, and perhaps with time she would ask Matt to scale back his part as “the face” of the agency and allow her to take a more central role publicly, but she was not completely prepared for that, at least not yet.
“Danika’s waiting, you better go,” Poppy said.
Matt gave her a quick peck on the cheek and scurried off toward Danika’s trailer. Poppy wandered over to where they were shooting the scene with the two young actors who get caught in flagrante delicto having sex in public by the astonished tourists. Both Iris and Violet had been recruited as extras for the scene. When Trent asked them to be a part of the tour group since he felt he needed a few more people to make up the crowd of onlookers, Violet had refused, explaining she was too self-conscious to appear on camera. But Iris told her she was being silly, it’s not like she had to recite any lines, and strong-armed her into participating alongside her.
As it turned out, Trent was duly impressed with Iris’s shock of white hair, bright red lipstick, keen fashion sense, and demonstrative confidence and commanding presence. And so when the tour group rounded the big boulder to see the young couple in each other’s arms stark naked, he decided to add the comedic line, “This was not in the brochure!”
And he wanted Iris to deliver it.
Iris was beyond excited.
Poppy just shook her head with a sigh.
The point of them being on set was to stay in the background and observe, make note of anything suspicious, and now, in addition to herself, both Matt and Iris had speaking parts in the movie.
Trent called, “Action!”
The young couple began to do
